Gabriella
“I have a surprise for you, Mrs. Sid Triker.”
I cringe, my eyes shut, and pretend to be asleep, trying to somehow magically erase yesterday when I said, “I do.”
And all the events after.
I want you.
You could have said no.
He would have gone crazy.
You promised yourself you would never give yourself to him, and you did.
His hands are all over me, and his mouth is next to my ear.
“We’re going to be late if you don’t wake up.”
Late for what?
I open my eyes and lob my head toward him.
If he weren’t Sid Triker, the most dangerous man in America, he would be sexy.
Why are you thinking like this?
He’s evil and a horrible human being.
He’s your husband.
Fake husband. It’s not legal.
Any chance of ever being with Javier, you ruined last night.
Javier is never coming for you. Triker will never allow him to get close. He has too many eyes and ears everywhere.
“Morning, my beautiful bride.” Sid crushes his lips to mine and roughly sticks his tongue in my mouth, moving his muscular body slightly on top of me.
I respond and I hate myself even more. I don’t know why his kisses turn me on, and I loathe myself for it. As if I have no control over my body, I grasp his head and buck my hips.
“No time for that right now. The crew is waiting for us,” he tells me through our kiss.
I grasp him tighter, suddenly scared and panicky. “Where are we going? You aren’t leaving me, are you?”
One thing that will never change is I don’t want to be around any of the people Sid keeps company with. Yesterday, the wedding guests may have dressed in designer clothes, but the men ogled me the way they usually did. Sid saw it, but instead of being angry at them, he enjoyed it.
Because you’re his property.
They all scare me, even the women, except for Lena, and I only feel safe if he’s right next to me.
He pulls back and strokes my hair. “Don’t worry. I’ll never leave you.”
Never.
I stay silent.
“The yacht is waiting for us. The crew has everything ready. But we need to go. It can’t stay in U.S. territory too long.”
My panic grows. “U.S. territory?”
“Yeah. Your husband is a wanted man,” he boasts. “We’ll stay in international waters.”
“International waters?”
“For our honeymoon.”
“Our honeymoon?”
His lips meet mine again. “Yeah. I’m taking my wife on a honeymoon. We need to spend some time together with no distractions.”
“No distractions?” My bottom lip trembles, and a tear falls out of my eye. “When are we coming back?”
He jerks his head back, and his eyes become slits. “I just told you I’m taking you on a yacht for our honeymoon, to spend time with you without all the stress of what happens around here, and you cry and want to know when we’re coming back?”
Oh God, he’s mad.
Get your head back in the game, Gabriella.
I pull his face closer to mine. “No, Sid. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you mean it, Gabriella?” He scowls.
Think, Gabriella.
“If I’m not here with Lena, then I can’t learn everything about being the perfect First Lady for you. I don’t know everything yet. Yesterday, people asked me questions I didn’t know how to answer, and I embarrassed you.”
His face calms. He strokes my cheek. “You didn’t embarrass me.”
“Yes, I did. I didn’t know the answers, and I’m your First Lady. I should have known the answers, and that reflects on you.”
His lips sink into mine then he murmurs, “You’re already the perfect First Lady. Stop worrying. You’re Gabriella Triker, and you don’t need to worry. You’re the most powerful woman in the Twisted Hearts.”
You’re the First Lady and Gabriella Triker. Tears drip off my chin. I sob.
“Shh. Why are you crying?” he softly asks.
I create another lie, which I’m getting good at. “You think I’m not grateful for our honeymoon surprise, and I am. It’s more than I could ask for. But I need more training so I represent you as I should. You don’t deserve me to be anything but perfect for you, and right now, I’m not. I don’t know everything. I couldn’t answer the questions last night, and I embarrassed you...I embarrassed us.”
Us. It’s the first time I’ve alluded to Triker and me as us.
He pecks my lips quickly. “You’re my perfect bride. And already the perfect First Lady. But I’ll take care of this. Get in the shower and be ready to leave. You don’t need to pack anything. Clothes are already on the ship. Not that I plan on letting you wear them very often.”
“I...I don’t understand.”
“Be ready to leave in twenty minutes. Let your husband take care of this for you.”
My husband. My stomach flips.
I don’t move.
He rises then pulls me off the bed. “Go.”
I do as I’m told and get ready, not sure what he’ll take care of it means.
Sid comes back in the room, and I’m sitting on the bed, fidgeting with my fingers, not sure when I’m coming back and fearful I may never see Florida again.
He holds his hand out. “Let’s go.”
I take it, and he guides me to the car. When I get inside, Lena is sitting in the back seat across from us.
“Lena. What are you doing here?”
She holds her arms in the air. “Surprise!”
“She’s coming with us. You can do an hour of training a day, but that’s it. I don’t want you working during our honeymoon, but I don’t want you stressed out, either. I’ll have to do my checks, and she can keep you company when I’m not with you.”
I blink new tears. This time, they are tears of joy and gratitude. “Really?”
Sid cups my cheek. “I told you to tell me what you need, and I’ll give it to you.”
I don’t even think and pull him to me and kiss him. “Thank you.”
His phone rings, and he winks at me. He barks out orders, and the car starts moving. He points to Lena, and I know that’s my cue that he’s going to be on the phone for a while, and I’m allowed to sit next to her and talk.
I move near her, and she squeezes my hand.
“Did you know you were coming?”
“No. He came and told me to pack a bag.”
I glance over at Sid, who’s engrossed in his conversation but staring at me.
I give him another grateful smile and spend the rest of the ride talking to Lena while Sid handles his business.
When we arrive at the yacht, we quickly get on board and leave the port.
After Sid gives me a thirty-minute tour around the ship, he takes me into our room. We’re both naked, changing into our swimsuits when a blue light blinks in the room.
“What’s that?” I ask in a panic.
“Coast Guard. Time to hide.”
“Hide?”
He hits a panel, and what I think is a wall opens up to a small closet. He shoves me inside and gets in as well then hits a button inside the tiny space. The door shuts, and metal pieces on each side lock into place.
“What’s happening?”
He slides his arms around my body and covers my mouth. “Stay quiet.”
The warmth of his flesh presses against me, and I quiver in fear, not sure what is going on.
“Don’t be scared, I’ll protect you,” he murmurs.
I continue to tremble.
“Stay quiet, or they will shoot,” he repeats in my ear. One hand stays over my mouth, but his other drops to my sex.
My heart races from fear and arousal.
Unlike his quick manner from the night before, he slides his fingers in me, slowly exploring, rubbing, and creating a slow burn of heat and adrenaline.
There are authoritative voices in the room, and the captain of the ship is answering questions.
I whimper in Triker’s arms, my heart racing and sweat breaking out on my skin.
“I think you like it slow,” he murmurs and continues to play my body.
My knees buckle. He holds me tight against him, while he sucks on my ear and shushes me. I convulse against him, and he continues driving me higher.
I bite one of his fingers, trying to not make a sound.
The voices don’t leave, and Triker makes me come three times. His erection pulses against my back with pre-cum dripping on my skin.
He spins me against the wall, still covering my mouth, pressed so close to me, there is no room between us. “Stay quiet so we don’t get shot.” He releases his hand and picks me up.
I pretzel my legs and arms around him, and his lips and tongue consume mine.
He doesn’t thrust fast like the previous night. In slow movements, he slides in and out of me, driving deeper and deeper and taking me from one orgasm to the next.
I spend most of the time shaking in his arms, gasping for air, moaning in his mouth, and seeing stars.
The voices slowly go away, and the boat starts to move. There are five knocks on the door, but Triker continues to maintain his speed with me.
“You’re perfect for me. I knew it when I saw you. Stop questioning it,” he growls and moves his lips on my neck.
“Oh...oh God...”
“What’s my name,” he mutters.
“Sid,” I pant as more adrenaline runs through my veins.
“Who am I?”
“The boss.” I swallow hard and dig my nails into him deeper. “Faster.”
“No. To you and only you?” he barks and slows down.
“My husband,” I cry out.
He thrusts faster.
“That’s right. And what’s my job?”
“To protect me.”
He kisses me then sucks on my bottom lip.
We’re coated in sweat, and he thrusts faster.
“What do you do if you need something?”
“Ask.”
“Why?’
“Because you’ll take care of me.”
“Why, Gabriella?”
I don’t answer him and instead say, “Harder.”
“Why do I take care of you?” he demands.
“Oh...oh...” I pant out.
“Tell me, Gabriella,” he yells in my face.
“Because you love me,” I cry out.
He smashes his lips to mine, jamming his tongue in my mouth and thrusting harder and faster until we both are shaking and crying out in ecstasy.
In our aftermath, he doesn’t release me right away, and I don’t let go of him. Our hearts thump against each other’s. My fingers stay gripped into his flesh. His forehead presses into the curve of my neck.
“There’s nothing I won’t give you, Gabriella. Anything you desire, even the things you subconsciously want.”
I swallow hard, knowing he’s referring to him. And I wonder if somehow Triker is right. As much as I hate him, do I want him?
The rest of the trip confuses me even more. Triker spends the entire time relaxed, calm, and making sure I have a good time. He laughs with me, which I rarely have seen. Even the few hours a day he spends on the phone or with his men on gang-related issues, he doesn’t once come back to me angry.
It’s a different side of him. A human side I find that I disturbingly like.
And every day, several times a day, I beg and plead with him in the bedroom to give me what I want as he takes his time and makes me his only priority.
I hate myself for it.
I try to remind myself that he’s evil and a monster. That this isn’t who I chose to be with and never would, but it gets harder, and I question what’s happening to me.
I’ve almost fallen for him but am snapped back into reality when the boat docks, and we get back to the house on Casey Key. Within seconds, his old self resumes.
Upon entering the mansion, six men are lined up. Triker has his arm around me, and he stiffens.
He releases me and steps up to the men. “You’re FBI?”
“No, sir,” the men all claim.
“You know what I do to FBI agents?”
The men’s eyes all widen in fear, and they try to claim their innocence.
Triker takes a knife out of his pocket.
I gape at him in horror.
Lena takes my hand. “Come on, Gabriella. Let’s go.”
“No. She stays,” Triker calls out without taking his eyes off the men.
My chest tightens so much I struggle to breathe. I calmly say, “Sid, I’m going upstairs.”
He spins. “No. You’re the First Lady. It’s time you see what happens to FBI agents.”
“I don’t need to—”
He puts his finger over my shaking lips.
“Please,” I whisper. “Don’t make me watch.”
His eyes become slits. “It’s your right to watch.”
I blink tears. I slowly but sternly tell him, “I need you to let me go upstairs. Please. It’s what I need.”
He hesitates then leans down and kisses me. “Okay. If that’s what you need.”
“It is. Thank you,” I tell him and go with Lena into my room as my gut continues to flip.
When Triker comes into the room, he’s covered in blood. I turn the shower on for him and tell myself to be the dutiful wife, but I’m reminded that no matter how much of a show Triker puts on for me, he’ll always be a monster.